Here’s what is making the weather headlines this weekend….

LOW CROSSES NORTH ISLAND – STRONG WINDS, HEAVY RAIN

A deep tightly wound low is due to move over the North Island today, the centre makes landfall for Taranaki early afternoon, reaching Hawkes Bay this evening.

There will be very strong winds around this low and the potential for heavy rain. Not much has changed from our write up yesterday morning which you can see here.

For weather watches and warnings from Metservice please see this page here.

Below are a series of pressure / rain maps and wind maps with the low as it moves through.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

RAINFALL OUTLOOK

Most of our weather coming up over the next seven days moves in from the west, it stands to reason that western regions will be wetter than in the east and the precipitation percentage of normal map below shows this is the case.

The North Island’s wet weather arrives with our deep low today, another low moves in on Monday with the potential for a few heavy falls.

For the South Island’s West Coast, while we do have showers now and then it’s not till Friday next week when a front pushes northwards over the South Island that there is some very heavy rain moving through.

The map below runs from today through to Saturday 27th May. Blue colouring means that part of the country is expecting more rainfall than would normally be expected at this time of year, red means less rainfall is expected and white is an average amount of rainfall. The more intense either red or blue then either scenario is more true.

WEATHER ON SUNDAY

A southwesterly airflow lies over the country on Sunday, strong for the North Island in the morning but these eases. By evening winds tend west to northwest for the North Island, perhaps even northerly further south.

North Island

Showers, rain in the southwest (Taranaki, Central North Island etc) eases from afternoon. By evening conditions may dry out in the west then showers or rain moves back into western areas overnight. Bay Of Plenty has a mix of sun and cloud during the day, chance of a shower spreading over from the west. Showers along the east coast ease in the afternoon and start to clear with sun breaking through, showers not clearing Wairarapa till evening.

South Island

Showers for the West Coast, perhaps rain at times north of Hokitika, thinning out in the evening but a few showers remain. Nelson and Marlborough have a mix of sun and cloud, the odd spit or shower, clearing late afternoon. Showers along the east coast clearing in the morning but remaining quite cloudy, cloud does break later in the day. Southland and Otago sees any early showers clear then sun increases from midday.

• 

•